Nigeria’s female Major-General, Aderonke Kale (Rtd) has passed on at the age of 84.
Her death was confirmed by the President of the Alumni Association of the National Institute (AANI), E. O. Okafor. He described her passing as an “irreparable loss”, adding that she was a trailblazer in the medical and military history of the country.
The statement read;
“AANI and indeed the nation will continue to remember the remarkable legacy of the iconic Major General Aderonke Kale (rtd) mni, who had been a trailblazer in Nigeria’s medical and military history. May her gentle soul continue to rest in peace, Amen.”
Kale studied medicine at University College, which eventually became the University of Ibadan, and psychiatry at the University of London.
Thomas Adeoye Lambo, Africa’s first professor of psychiatry, inspired her to pursue psychiatry. Kale, who was born on July 31, 1939, worked briefly in Britain before returning to Nigeria in 1971.
By 1990, she had risen through the ranks of the army to become a colonel and deputy commander of the Nigerian Army Medical Corps.
Initially, she served as the army’s top psychiatrist. Later, she was appointed Director of the Nigerian Medical Corps, where she served as Chief Medical Officer until 1996.
In 1994, she was promoted to Major-General and retired from the army in 1997. Aderonke was married to Oladele Kale, a professor of preventive and social medicine, and had five kids, including former Nigerian Statistician-General Yemi Kale.
